The Westchester Symphonic Winds (WSW) opens its 34th season on November 14, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. at the Tarrytown Music Hall with a musical salute to Australian composer Percy Grainger.
In collaboration with the Percy Grainger Society, the concert celebrates the 100th anniversary of Grainger’s arrival in White Plains and the 60th anniversary of his death. Works featured on the program include Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy, Molly on the Shore, In a Nutshell, Irish Tune, and Tuscan Serenade, with soloists Erin Dawson and Marc Tartell, euphonium.
Curt Ebersole, conductor/music director, said “We are so excited to return to the Tarrytown Music Hall for our first performance there since February 2020, and to partner with the Percy Grainger Society and their Grainger Home & Studio in White Plains to celebrate this monumental composer at the intersection of these two anniversaries.”
Paul Jackson, president of the Percy Grainger Society, notes "The Society is so pleased to collaborate with Westchester Symphonic Winds for this concert. Curt Ebersole, PGS member and longtime friend, has worked tirelessly to organize this rousing selection of Grainger's notable compositions. I am certainly looking forward to it."
About The Westchester Symphonic Winds
The Westchester Symphonic Winds is a 60-piece adult community-based wind and percussion ensemble, originally known as the Hudson Valley Wind Symphony. This year marks their 34th season. WSW exists to promote music in the Hudson Valley, instill pride in nation and heritage, provide opportunities for personal expression and growth for their membership, and nurture the love of music by offering an exceptional musical experience for people of all ages.
In addition to the present collaboration with the Percy Grainger Society, WSW has given concerts on behalf of many service and benefit organizations. Its educational outreach program has included a Side-by-Side Concert with the Mahopac Central School District and a 2015–2016 exchange program with the Northshore Concert Band of Evanston, Illinois. WSW made its Lincoln Center debut at Avery Fisher Hall in 2010, performed at the Association of Concert Bands National Convention in 2012 and 2019, New York State Band Directors Association in 2017, and has performed at the Caramoor Festival annually since 2014. WSW was the winner of The American Prize for 2018-2019. The organization is an Ensemble-in-Residence at the historic Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York, and rehearses there on Monday evenings, September through May.